What if it was our country...what would we call a system that forces 65 percent of one ethnic/racial group into poverty? What would we call a system that forces 75 percent of this ethnic/racial group's children into poverty, along with 45% of its own children in poverty? What would we call this system that discriminates based on an ethnic/racial group in "planning and construction, exploitation of land, and minimal investment in physical infrastructure and government and municipal services?" What do we call a system that strips a people of its land (based on race/ethnicity), builds homes for the people in power, and then issues few permits for housing construction of this subordinate population since the occupation started?
Does this resemble segregation in the US? Does this resemble Apartheid in South Africa? Does this remind the United States of our dark past of colonization (manifest destiny) and stripping indigenous peoples and Mexicans of the lands where they resided on the continent of North America? Does this remind us of our current policies of immigration enforcement during the 2000s? Does this resemble gentrification in US metropolitan centers? Does this resemble suburban Europe with its policies of isolation and exclusion for North Africans and other immigrants? Have we fallen so far from grace that we cannot see the systems within our own borders?
Are we able to make this world better, not just for the few, but for all? Are we able put our personal ambitions and self-justifications away for the sake of the common good? Are we able to be a compassionate people struggling for liberation and reconciliation, instead of domination and isolation? Are we able to live with love, grace, and service, instead of hate, apathy, and selfishness? Are we able to co-exist together, instead of destroying and bringing each other down? Can we see each other, not as competitors, strangers, or enemies, but as neighbors, brothers and sisters....as one race, one Human race? How will we live?
